A wealthy eccentric who was known for talking to his two ornamental mice was allegedly pushed to his death under the wheels of a van by a pub landlord, a court heard today.

Rostam Notarki, 53, is said to have forced Charles Hickox into the road with an ironing board as a makeshift weapon after a row at the Cardinal Wolsey bar in Twickenham, west London.

The grey-bearded American was seen 'running for his life' before the attack but died at the scene from head and brain injuries, the Old Bailey was told.

Rostam Notarki, 53, (left) and his son Kian Notarki, 19, (right) arriving at the Old Bailey today. Rostam is charged with manslaughter after he allegedly chased an eccentric into a road who was then killed by a van

An argument broke out after Mr Hickox was asked to leave because staff believed he was drunk and rude but he had later returned to pick up a Visa card he left behind.

The court heard he was armed with two tennis racquets, which he pushed Notarki away with, before he was allegedly chased into the road and struck by a Mercedes van.

Notarki, together with his 19-year-old son Kian and Mehrad Mohmadi, 45, then tried to cover up the killing on September 7 last year by hiding CCTV evidence, it is claimed.

The court heard Mr Hickox's appearance was scruffy and he gave the impression he slept rough but actually had access to large sums of money.

As he reached the kerb Notarki hit Mr Hickox with the ironing board on the back, 'propelling Hickox forward into the road', said Miss Nelson.

At the same time motorist Omeed Moghimi was driving a Mercedes car past the pub when he saw Mr Hickox being chased out of an alleyway.

Miss Nelson said: 'Moghimi describes Hickox as looking like he was in a dive towards the road. He was not sure if the van hit the deceased but he saw Charles Hickox lying face down and motionless in the road.'

Other witnesses saw Mr Hickox being chased by several men including one armed with an ironing board and another armed with an iron bar.

'The witnesses describe seeing the deceased falling or being pushed into the road and into the path of the oncoming Mercedes van by the man holding the ironing board,' said Miss Nelson.

'That man is Rostam Notarki, who holds the lease for the Cardinal Wolsey. But for his unlawful act of assaulting Charles Hickox with the ironing board the deceased would not have been propelled in front of the Mercedes van with the terrible consequences that resulted.'

Kian is said to have wielded an iron bar while Mehrad Mohmadi, who worked in the pub, was further back in the chasing group, the court heard.

All three men then removed the CCTV monitor and hard drive and hid them from police, it is claimed.

'Efforts were made by these three men to hide the CCTV evidence that had captured the incident,' said Miss Nelson.

Rostam Notarki, a father of two from Iran who came to the UK in 1982 as a qualified engineer, has owned the pub since 2013.

Police pictured at the scene at the time of the crash in September 7 last year. Mr Hickox died at the scene of head and brain injuries

He denied an ironing board was involved when questioned by police and claimed Mr Hickox shoved him hard in the chest. The ironing board was later found in a cupboard in an upstairs function room.

Witness Patrick Small, who described Mr Hickox as running for his life, said Rostam Notarki was angry and shouting 'You b****** you hit me', the court heard.

'He describes Charles Hickox as running very well and says he would have got away if he had not had to pause at the edge of the kerb because of the traffic,' said Miss Nelson.

'Mr Small saw Rostam Notarki run up without slowing and jab Hickox in the shoulder blade area of the back, using enough force to make Hickox fall into the road. Mr Small believes the deceased' head made contact with the front passenger wheel of the van.'

Rostam Notarki, of Twickenham, west London, denies manslaughter but has admitted perverting the course of justice.

Kian Notarki, a student at Warwick University living at the same address as his father, and Mohmadi, of Hampton, west London, both deny perverting the course of justice.